Interview With Kate Bosworth (The Warrior’s Way)

Several weeks ago, I was able to attend the press day for “The Warrior’s Way” which stars Kate Bosworth, Danny Huston, Dong-gun Jang and Geoffrey Rush. Admittedly, I hadn’t heard much about the film prior to attending the press day, however, by time I’d left I reckon I knew all there was to know about “The Warrior’s Way.” Okay, obviously that isn’t true. The film follows a warrior-assassin who is forced to hide in a small town in the American Badlands after refusing a mission. Yeah, I know I’m a little behind in posting this but better late than never right? Read on for our interview with Kate Bosworth and be sure to check out our interview with Danny Huston as well!

What was it that excited you about doing this film?

KB: For me, it started with the screenplay. I was sent the screenplay, and I had never read anything like it. It was incredibly original and really a collision of different genres, all mixed into one. I was just very attracted to the uniqueness of the project. It’s a real kaleidoscope of many different elements, but there’s a very strong through-line of good versus evil and that love conquers all. The dichotomy of the complexity on one hand, and then the simplicity on the other, and a real beautiful poetry interwoven through the whole project, was what was most attractive.

What kind of training did you do, in order to be able to do your own stunt work on the film?

KB: We just went into a room and started knocking each other to shit. So much of those action sequences were essential to the character’s development, especially between myself and Dong Gun, and that romantic, frantic, wild lead-up to their kiss. I feel like it had to be he and I because it was so essential to their development. And then, similarly, but on the completely other side of the coin, the scene between Danny and I was that moment for both of them, facing off and fulfilling this obsessive attraction to each other. We wanted to do as much as possible, for those reasons.

Did anyone get hurt or injured during the fight scenes?

KB: When you’re working through the scenes, you’re working on such adrenalin. And then, later, you’re like, “Oh, god, my back hurts. Where did that come from?” Your entire arm can be bruised up, but you don’t even think about it while you’re working.

With all of the green screen, did you ever lose track of what you were supposed to be seeing or doing?

KB: The whole film was shot on this vast stage. There were bits of sets, but the entire thing was covered in neon green, so what we were surviving with was the costumes. The costumes really gave us some kind of visual aid, as to where we were, in terms of character development and physically what would be around us because it was literally a black canvas. We would often say, “What’s happening over there?” It was exciting to see it come together. I think Sngmoo Lee did such a beautiful job.

Does it bring you closer together as performers, when you only have each other to rely on?

KB: We were in New Zealand, which is so far away from everything. Sometimes we would just look around at these crazy costumes on this empty stage and be like, “Well, we’re here together.” You can spiral into a little bit of madness sometimes. I know I did.

Being a Korean filmmaker, did you notice a difference in the director’s approach?

KB: Also, the nuance of emotion would sometimes be difficult to understand. He would say to me, “I think she’s very angry in this scene,” and I would say, “Oh, wow, that’s quite an intense emotion.” And then, I would play it and he’d say, “Not so angry,” and I’d say, “Frustrated?,” and he’d say, “Yeah, frustrated.” So, it was like an umbrella of an emotion and finding the tentacles of exactly what it was that he was specifically looking for. It was often a challenge, but when you got there, you felt successful finding that specificity together.

Working with a first time director, how much creative involvement did you get to have with your character development?

KB: The only head-butt I had on the look of my character was the hair. I wanted her to be a redhead, and I was hellbent on that. I was like, “How can you have this fierce, fiery, crazy, feral woman in the middle of a desert with jet black hair? I love jet black hair, but she has to be a redhead.” So, I fought tooth and nail for that, but I won that battle. It’s very distinct. I had such a romantic idea of her, and I thought it really worked. It really helped define her for me. I know that sounds strange, but with the physicality, sometimes you can get hooked on something that’s important.

How did you approach establishing the chemistry with Jang Dong Gun?

KB: With Dong Gun’s character, we liked each other so much when we first met that it was very easy to get along. The relationship was pretty well planned and structured on the page, and we rehearsed a lot because he wanted to get his English as perfect as possible, so we got to know each other pretty well. It was easy to find that connection with each other and bring it to the screen. It wasn’t a challenge at all.

What was it like to work with the Korean Brad Pitt?

KB: I feel like he loved being in New Zealand so much because he was anonymous for one of the first times in his life, and he just couldn’t believe it. We really felt like we were clinging on the edge of the world in New Zealand. He’s very polite and very sensitive of other people.